The Order of the Walloon Government of July 18, 2019, relating to the management of fuel oil depots used for heating purposes with a capacity of between 500 and 24,999 liters and modifying various provisions in this area (M.B. on 11/13/2019) was repealed in April 2020. A new decree will soon have to be drawn up by the Walloon Government. In order to implement this future decree under the best conditions, the ISSeP has set about drafting a technical guide in collaboration with players in the sector to accompany the aforementioned decree. This guide will specify in particular the requirements which these fuel oil storage facilities must meet, for example for their design, their placement, their ancillary equipment, their periodic checks, etc. The aim being to control the risk of pollution of the environment from these installations by bringing into compliance a large majority of these still undeclared and which will have to meet new requirements. Attention is also paid to the costs generated by the implementation of this new decree, the aim being that it remains reasonable for the owners of said installations.
Also, this future decree will lead to an increase in controls on fuel oil depots and to do this, technicians approved for liquid fuel depots will have to be trained. The ISSeP has set up basic training for these technicians allowing them to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge on the equipment concerned for the acquisition of more concrete experience of tank controls as well as the measuring devices to be used. . Finally, refresher training ensures that skills are maintained over time as well as updating the technical developments available to carry out checks.
To validate the skills of these controllers, the ISSeP will regularly organize examination sessions on its Colfontaine site in order to issue them their certificate of aptitude if they pass the skills assessment. They can then request their approval or renewal of their approval to practice in the Walloon region from the SPW Directorate of Soil Protection – Department of Soil and Waste.
Finally, the ISSeP has also developed a test protocol to set the minimum control points to which devices for measuring the tightness of fuel oil tanks using the acoustic method as well as the vacuum method must meet in Wallonia. Other protocols are planned to test and possibly validate other tank control methods and/or new equipment; and this thanks to the progressive acquisition of equipment at the ISSeP of Colfontaine, in particular a steel pilot tank with a capacity of 1,000 liters.